Kevin Strijbos stays forever young!
There is no shortage of competition at home. Yet 35-year-old Kevin Strijbos, father of two, was the fastest of the Gebben Van Venrooy Yamaha Racing last weekend in Crisolles. That means something with up-and-coming talent like Calvin Vlaanderen and Brent Van Doninck as teammates.
Even at the end of last year, Kevin Strijbos' future as a GP rider looked very uncertain. The season with his own KSRTmx Suzuki team was not what he expected due to injuries. However, the six-time GP winner still negotiated an agreement with the Dutch Yamaha MXGP team in January.
Strijbos had not raced since the MXGP of Valkenswaard last year. His debut for his new team during the Crisolles international race in France was an absolute success. So it went very well. Kevin showed he has the pace to compete at the front, even finishing second behind MXGP vice-world champion Jerey Seewer. At the very least, an encouraging debut in a more than decent field of participants.
“It was a good day, it was my first race since Valkenswaard last year. Everything went well, I had a good timed practice in which I took pole. In the first moto I rode to the holeshot and was in the lead for most of the moto until the trailing riders became a big problem. I had a problem with one of them. He didn't move out of the way and that's why Jeremy (Seewer) passed. He went on the outside and I got stuck in a rut behind the doubled rider. It was also somewhat my own fault, maybe I should have chosen a different line. But you have to make a decision at that moment. Anyway, I tried to get back into the lead by passing Seewer but it didn't work, I was right behind him at the end of the moto," Strijbos told GateDrop.com.
Strijbos is happy with the way the collaboration with the team is going. At the same time, he also knows that there is still some work to be done on the engine. Once that is done, Strijbos hopes to be able to compete at the front of the MXGP world championship. There are so many top players that it won't be easy anyway. For the Belgian veteran, who finished second with the Belgian team at the MX of Nations at the end of 2019, it would be a huge boost after a period of injuries.
Kevin Strijbos: “I was quite happy with how it went. At the end of that moto I started having a bit of pain in my arms. The start of the second moto wasn't that great. I was around thirteenth or fourteenth, but I worked my way up to sixth or so quite easily. I had to find other lines as I got closer to the leaders, I had to search but as soon as I found better lines I passed them too. In two or three laps I passed a few fast guys. So that was definitely positive. I had a good feeling with that second place in the final standings.”
It was also a good start for myself and the team. We have already worked hard on the engine and we continue to do so. I think it can only get better in the future. It is not yet 100%, we still have to go further, but for Russia we can hopefully get close to 100%. Everyone is happy with how the bike is, so I'm really looking forward to going to Russia. I still feel worthy of my place at the top level and I'm excited to start the season. We'll see how it goes, maybe I'll race in the French Ernée championship the week before Russia. I still have to look at that, but the plan is to maybe do one more race before the season starts to see how it goes," said 'the Kid'.
Tekst: Andy McKinstry & Tom Jacobs
Photos: Eric Laurijssen & DBMX photography
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